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FAQ

What is the difference between Wholesome Organic Blue Agave and HFCS?

Sadly, there has been a great deal of myths and misinformation about agave on the internet. We encourage our consumers not to believe the hype which is based on the criticism of High Fructose Corn Syrup and the erroneous assumption that agave is similar because it naturally contains fructose.

Other foods that are naturally high in fructose include honey, raisins, and dates, non of which have been compared to HFCS. Because the corn used to produce HFCS is genetically modified, large quantities of chemical pesticides and herbicides are used to grow and harvest the corn.

Since our agave is organic, no chemical pesticides or herbicides are used which is good for the planet and the health of farmers and their families.The agave plants are never genetically modified.

Fructose and glucose are common sugars. Table sugar, sucrose, is a natural combination of equal parts of fructose and glucose. Honeys naturally contain fructose and glucose in varying levels (depending on what the bees forage on–it can contain a high percentage of fructose or glucose, or nearly replicate sucrose in its balance of both). Because HFCS has a high glucose content it WILL spike blood sugar. Wholesome! Organic Agave has been independently tested by third party labs to show it is low glycemic and WILL NOT spike blood sugar like HFCS or white sugar.

High fructose corn syrup was developed in food laboratories the 1970s as a cheap sweetener and bulking agent. It is produced from modified corn syrup, which, in turn, is made from genetically modified corn. While Wholesome is an adamant opponent of genetically modified organisms and foods derived from them, we are equally concerned about the sheer volume of HFCS that most Americans consume, without even knowing that they’re eating it. It’s a key ingredient in so many of the packaged/manufactured foods on grocery store shelves–and those super-sized sodas … more than 30% HFCS in most cases.

HFCS is an industrial ingredient (you can’t by it in the grocery store–it’s made exclusively to meet the varying needs of food manufacturers). Depending on the manufacturer’s application, the syrup is modified to hold as little as 30% fructose or as much as 90%. Awareness, and reading ingredient labels is critical. And moderation is key.

The process to make agave is extremely different as it does not require chemicals or extra sweeteners to make it. To convert the agave fiber into a syrup our bodies can digest comfortably, it must either be exposed to heat. In the case of the raw agave, we expose the liquid to gentle heat for a very long period of time. The light agave is exposed to slightly higher heat for a shorter period of time. We have detailed reports and analyses on every single batch of agave syrup we supply. Each batch must pass our extensive testing before it is bottled.